


Metanoia

by orphan_account



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Iruma Miu's Dirty Mouth, Its fluffy at the end ok ;-;, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:02:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21741892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Pain sharing soulmate AUorMiu's life hasn't always been the greatest, but Kaede's there to show her that maybe it could be
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 173





	Metanoia

**Author's Note:**

> TW for abuse and rape/non-con themes (nothing is super explicit tho)

Miu’s mom had a tendency to stew in her emotions like a spoon through wet dough, eventually embellishing into a bitter, melancholy cake. She was used to the somber evenings of chilled Tacate turned to over-the-table brawls; of the TV switched from honeyed cartoons to half naked bellicose men throwing fists. 

She didn’t mind all that much; her dad was there when her mom wasn’t, lifting her up onto his broad shoulders, pushing her on the swingset in their backyard and showering her with compliments and mischievous dirty jokes. 

Her mom, by contrast, walked on eggshells around the both of them. The smoke from her cigarettes seemed to act as a bridge to some faraway land of snaking hands and sweet-nothings. She was never  _ there,  _ always yearning. Watching. Waiting.

Miu always wondered what she was waiting for. 

Her father dropped dead one night.

Maybe  _ that  _ was it. 

It was unceremonious and sudden, just a loud  _ thud  _ followed by the clatter of cutlery as it hit the tile. Cuts webbed across his face and throat, crocheted across his arms to pool in a congealed mess on the floor. His chest had caved inward, ribs slipping into his lungs. His death was nearly instantaneous. 

“Dad?” Miu whispered, kneeling down and nudging his shoulder. Pots were still boiling on the stove, the cutting board still slick with the remnants of diced vegetables.

Whatever he had been cooking must have been terrible- it smelled acidic and metallic. Miu didn’t understand that the stench wasn’t coming from the food but rather the body in front of her. 

Her mom came thundering out of the living room, eyes wide. She looked at her husband’s body blankly, a cigarette perched between her fingers. Her eyes hardly touched Miu before she came and knelt down, lightly shoving Miu aside. 

She grabbed her mom’s bicep, tugging on her sleeve. 

“M-mom?” She croaked.  _ Is he ok? Why is he covered in blood? Why isn’t he breathing? Why- If we leave the stove on, the fire alarm is going to go off- _

“Fuck off!” Her mom bellowed, her hand whipping back like a whip. Miu stumbled, hitting the edge of the table before sprawling on the ground. Her cheek felt like an overused pincushion.

She screamed, clutching at her cheek and beginning to cry. 

“Go to your room,” the woman hissed. “No. Wait. Hold on. Call the cops. Now.”

Trembling, Miu stood and dialed 911. She talked, trying to explain what had happened. She didn’t have the words. She didn’t have the breath. 

_ I’m sorry sweety, could you repeat that? Ok. I hear you. And you’re sure no one was in the house? Hey, it’s ok. Deep breaths alright? We want to help you. _

_ ‘W-what happened? Why is he on the floor?’ _

_ Calm down. Just breathe. We believe… well.. This may be hard to hear. How old are you?  _

_ ‘T-Ten.” _

_ Ok. Your father’s soulmate, I believe, was killed. Sounds like a car accident. Do you know what a soulmate is? _

_ ‘Y- Y- Yes.’ _

_ Ok, that's good. Soulmates share their pain, their trauma. And the good things too, but in this case it was bad. Things like this happen sometimes. All we can do now is pray for them. Just relax. We’ll get this all taken care of, don’t worry.  _

Miu hung up the phone, staring at the wall. She heard her mom sobbing in the kitchen. Numbed down to her marrow, she crawled back to her room, plopping on a bed and hugging a plushie to her chest, burying her face into its soft fur. 

_ Soulmate.  _ The word sent hooks of fear scratching down her spine. To just drop dead at any second.. Blood.. So much blood..

Suddenly the pain in her cheek dissolved, replaced with a pleasant numbness that soothed her like aloe. As if coming off of a sugar high, she fell into a comfortable tranquility. A warmth cuddled her as if she was caught in a phantom embrace, taking the pain away. 

No. Not a phantom.

_ Please don’t leave me.  _ “D- don’t die,” she whispered. “You’re not allowed to die.”

***

Kaede gripped the hem of her skirt, rolling it between her fingers. Her heart was stampeding in her chest, bubbling up into her ears and making her head hurt. All she wanted was to go home, to curl up on her couch read a book.

Something nice with a happy ending. 

“Hey, you’re going to do great,” her mom murmured, scruffing her head a little. “You remember what Mr. Ikimatsu said right? You’ll do amazing!”

Kaede gulped down the lump in her throat, peeking around the curtain. The piano looked as tall as a mountain, its shadow hungrily gobbling her up like a fairybook troll. 

“B- But I’m still nervous,” Kaede whispered. There were so many people, all murmuring and jeering.. All watching and laughing and..

Something soft and warm had wormed its way into her chest. Her anxiety began to dull as if lathered in honey and she felt herself relax. Within a few moments it was gone, whisked away by.. Her soulmate. 

If it were any other time she might have slipped into a jittering fit of glee, but right now all she could feel was pride and excitement; excitement so raw that it touched every part of her like a second skin. 

Her chest swelled and she smiled happily. “You’re right. He did say I’d be pretty great.”   
She briefly entertained the memory of a couple months ago, where in a sudden jolt she had been hit with a wave of anxiety that rivaled when she performed for Mr. Ikimatsu during her piano lessons. Until then her soulmate had been quiet, almost eerily so. Kaede had thought she may not of even had one. 

She took the pain away. She wanted to take it all away from this person, whoever they were. 

She didn’t care that that night she hadn’t slept, that she had laid awake for hours with tears on her cheeks with only the clouded moon to comfort her.  _ No. They’re out there, sleeping peacefully right now. I’ll keep them safe. I  _ will. 

That was all the comfort she needed.

***

The front door swung open on its hinges with a loud, gulping  _ swoosh  _ of air. Latare Kuyo walked in with a sneer plastered to his lips, and from the vacant look in his eyes she guessed it had been there for a while. 

He tossed his coat on the floor before grabbing a beer, popping it open like a hawk popping the head off a mouse. He flopped onto the sofa next to her as if he owned the place.  _ All high and mighty. Who does he think he is? Some couch-surfing meat sack.  _

__ Merely a few weeks after the Incident, Latare started coming around, hand in hand with her mom. Miu didn’t understand why she liked him (she didn’t realize it wasn’t  _ love,  _ it was some sick form of self gratification and the yearning for financial stability). 

Latare was gross. He stooped wherever he walked, back bent like a bow. Rolls of fat leaked out of the bottom of his shirt and his sleeves were stained in yellow meat grease.

He smelled just as bad. 

“Hey back off,” she snarled. “This is my terf.”

He ignored her, taking the remote from her hands and switching the channel. 

“Hey, I’m talking to you moron,” she whined, smacking the remote from his hands. She glared as he turned to look at her, his eyes glittering with dull amusement. 

“You should get used to me you know, I’m here to stay,” Latare said. 

“You say that now. Mom will probably toss you out on the street like the garbage you are.”

Latare just chuckled. When he went silent, he reached out and rolled a strand of her strawberry-blond hair in his fingers. “You’d like to think that huh? You don’t know the trouble your mommy’s in. Not like you would understand it anyway.” He yanked.

She yelped. 

“You know, I bet she’d let me do anything here if I wanted,” Miu began to tremble. “More than what your meek little brain would understand,” he gently cupped her cheek. Then he was leaning in. She could practically  _ taste  _ the beer on his tongue.

His lips were chapped and slobbery against hers. It was just a small, idle peck but it made Miu nauseous. He yanked at her hair again.

“Stop smelling up my living room,” Miu’s mom snapped.

Miu jolted, letting out a sharp gasp.

Latare smirked. “Sorry about that, love. A shower’s calling my name.”

She rolled her eyes, disappearing into the kitchen.  _ She saw that right? She had to- but she didn’t do anything. She didn’t  _ care. 

Miu lay awake in her bed, staring at her ceiling dotted with glow-in-the-dark star stickers. Thunder rumbled outside, rattling in her teeth. She clenched her fists with just as much vigor.

A cold, slimy feeling began to creep across her skin like vaseline.  _ She saw. Why didn't she say anything? Yelled at him? Hit him? Beat his brains out! _

Her mother was one of the few people who didn’t have a soulmate- no one to ease her pain, to soothe her worries. To truly  _ understand  _ her. Was she desperate? So desperate to stoop so low as scumbags like Latare?

His mouth- somehow she knew he wasn’t finished. She understood the glint in his eyes, shining like opal pearls. The look of someone who was hungry.  _ Rabid.  _

Her stomach clenched and bile erupted into her throat.

She ran to the bathroom, puking up her guts.

She leaned over the toilet, shaking and trembling, gripping the edge with bone-white knuckles. 

Hardly a second later she felt warmth. She relaxed ,her muscles slackening as she rested her head against her arm.

Her soulmate. Her protector. Her guardian angel. 

Miu wished that she could help her soulmate more, to repay them for taking away her pain, her fear, even if it was only for a few hours. But all she could do was alleviate some stress and anxiety here and there. 

Maybe it was enough. 

_ They’ll keep me safe.  _

A single tear slipped down her cheek. 

***

“Mom?” Kaede asked one evening. She was twirling her fork, staring at her plate of uneaten food as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Hm?” Her mom looked up. Her kind eyes were perfectly calm, a stark contrast to the emotions rolling around in Kaede’s chest like wet rocks. “Are you and dad soulmates?”

Her father choked on his water. 

Her mom smiled with a small laugh. “Yes, we are. Can’t you tell?” She laced her fingers through her husband’s, giving him a loving look. 

Kaede frowned. “Before you met, did you guys feel.. Um.. Feel each other’s pain? Like, if dad tripped and fell or something-” she was met with an indignant squawk. “What? You’re clumsy! But as I was saying, if he tripped and fell and scraped his knees or.. I don't know.. Would you feel it, mom?”

Her mom nodded slowly. “At first I didn’t understand why I was getting hurt all the time- you really are clumsy you know-”

“Hey-”

“But despite the pain, it felt good. I took away most of his pain, even if he didn’t always deserve it,” she winked. “But I loved it all the same. Knowing that he was out there, that someday we would meet, it made me happier than anything.”

Kaede set down her fork and looked at her hands. She took a breath. “What was it like when you guys met? Was there a sign or something? Did you feel it?”

Her dad answered this time. “All things considered, it was pretty unceremonious. We met in our choir class, junior year. We got stuck in a partner group. I personally didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. But then I just had to go and scratch my arm up on the risers. As always your mom took the pain away from me, and I saw her wince. After that, we talked and found out. It didn’t feel so much magical as it felt  _ surreal.  _ Perfect. Hopeful, if nothing else.”

Kaede wanted- no-  _ needed  _ to find her soulmate. They were out there somewhere, and the tremors of anxiety were becoming more and more frequent. Kaede had yet to feel any physical, bodily pain, but she felt their tender emotions being frayed and cut like old strings on a bass.

So she took it all. All the pain that she could handle, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, just bearing it.  _ I’ll protect them.  _

__ “Your soulmate is out there,” her mom interrupted her reverie, reaching over the table and squeezed her hand. “You’ll meet when you meet, magical or not. But I guarantee you’ll never be more happy than when you’re with that special someone.”

Kaede was just fluffing her pillow, ready to flick off her bedroom light when a surge of discomfort spilled into her chest.  _ Just bear it. _

__ Instinctually she took the pain, shutting off her light and curling under her blankets. These episodes usually were quick to come and slow to fade, but they did. Just an hour or two.

But tonight was different. 

Tonight she felt something physical, rough and demanding. The pressure was on her wrists, a tight, sharp grip that made her whimper. She pushed her face into her pillow.  _ It's alright. It’ll go away.  _

__ She stamped down a splinter of panic jolting into her chest, steadying her breathing. 

A grip on her thighs, traveling up to the hem of her shorts. Her eyes widened but she didn’t give it up.  _ Breathe. Just breathe. Protect them.  _

__ She didn’t fully grasp what was happening until she felt a sharp, oily burn up her thighs. She cried out, teeth sinking into her lip. Her lower body was on fire- being brutally ripped apart. It only got worse and worse until Kaede was crying, clutching at her pillow. 

But beyond her delirium of pain, she was angry. No.  _ Outraged.  _ Outraged that someone would  _ dare  _ to hurt her soulmate like this. She dug her nails into her pillow, gritting her teeth. She let out a frustrated grunt, sobbing out a growl. 

She took it. All of it. All the pain until she slipped into a dizzy, sickening sleep. 

***

Miu was curled in the corner of her closet, staring at the door. A dull pain throbbed between her legs and the sticky, greasy feeling on her skin had dipped into her throat like a damp paper towel. She couldn’t breathe. 

Like a flower it grew and grew- his grins, his rough, dirty skin and his gleeful, sadistic eyes.  _ Him.  _ The tension kept mounting until each and every second with him was full to bursting with  _ lust _ . His touches, needy and arduous. 

Then he snapped.

She’d cried out. Begged. Her mom had turned a blind eye, chugging her cigarette and waving her broken nails. “Don’t make a mess Latare.”

She’d wanted to scream. She’d wanted them to stop- her soulmate had taken the pain, shouldered almost all of it.  _ No! You don’t deserve it! Don’t take it! Don’t take it! Please! Don’t- _

Her stomach knotted and she felt like she might throw up. Flashes of what had happened slammed into her head like bullets. She wasn’t crying, or acting, or really  _ existing  _ at all. She felt trapped inside air-tight plastic, cold and unable to move for if she did she would break. And that was something she  _ wasn’t  _ going to do. 

But besides her tangled emotions, she was furious. Latare had not only hurt her but also her soulmate. She clenched her fists until crimson crescents gauzed her palms. 

A couple more weeks rolled by in a torrid whorl. Winter was swollen on the horizon and the air was frost-bitten. Miu was constantly snuggled into numerous coats, gloves and stockings. For once in a good long while she didn’t care if other people thought she looked like a stuffed hippo. 

Latare left on a Friday, returned on a Saturday morning and then was gone. Miu never wanted to see his meaty, entitled ass again. But she remembered. She could count every pock on his gnarly face- his chapped lips and puffy cheeks, that slick grin that slithered onto his face.

Miu’s mom fell into a depressed stupor, constantly tugging her hair until some of it ripped out like ribbons. She sobbed in the bathroom late at night when she thought Miu couldn’t hear; and even though she did, she couldn’t bring herself to care. 

The next man in her mom’s carousel of suitors was a man named Oscur Wael. He was tall and lanky, all bones and hips. He seemed perpetually blissful, possibly high on something or other. 

He respected the fact that she always shied away from him like a cowed dog. He didn’t yell at her or get mad when she didn’t return his smiles. He never touched her, nor seemed to feel the need to.

For the first time she didn’t dread coming home.

But that wasn’t to say everything was peachy and perfect. 

Miu had just hopped off the bus when a sharp, splintering pain fissured up into her shoulder. She hissed between her teeth, falling to kneel on her porch step. Her soulmate was hurt.  _ Hurting.  _ Much more than her.

She took the pain. She let out a soft groan, biting her lip until it bled. Their shoulder must be broken or something, but she didn’t care. She  _ wanted  _ to take it, for however long she could.

As the day continued she held onto the pain like a sick afterthought. She ignored it as much as she ignored Oscur. Deep down she could sense the worry, the raw stress coming from her soulmate.  _ I can live with this, for however long it takes. _

__ So she did. 

***

Kaede’s whole world came to a standstill in that doctor’s office. Her stomach was doing acrobatics and her heart kept slamming into her ribcage. She broke out into a cold sweat.  _ This wasn’t happening.  _

She was mentally screaming at herself for slipping. Hell, she wasn’t even all that high up in the tree. But one of the branches had snapped and the knobs of the branch under her feet had made her unstable. Then she was falling.

A thud.

A snap.

A scream. 

Her friend had cried down at her but Kaede wasn’t listening. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Tears sprung into her eyes less from the pain but rather from the shock.

However the pain that was there faded as quickly as it came.

She gasped. Her mouth went dry.  _ They took it. Of course they did.  _ She swallowed thickly.  _ Damn you, whoever you are. You don’t deserve this.  _

__ A swell of gratitude rose in her chest. 

Her shoulder was broken. The doctor said it in that monotone voice that some doctor’s had because they just couldn’t bring themselves to care. Kaede grimaced.

How long? 

The thought of not being able to practice, to not be able to preform was sickening. A fate worse than death to her. She didn’t even have enough willpower to berate herself for how pathetic and silly that sounded.

After a bit of negotiation and painful planning, Kaede’s parents finally found a way to make it work. A special splint. She could still play, though her parents were sweating bullets with worry. 

_ Won’t it hurt? Maybe you should just wait until it heals, just to be safe. Don’t push yourself.  _

__ But the thing was that even a week after the break, she still felt only an acute numbness coupled with an unfurling warmth in her chest. 

“Thank you,” she’d whisper before each of her lessons.”You shouldn’t be doing this but.. Thank you.”

__

__ ***

Oscur was the one who asked about her arm. The one who gently prodded her with his milky voice at the dinner table. Miu wasn’t quite sure why he cared, but she accepted it, much like she accepted the constant throbbing in her shoulder.

“It's from your soulmate, huh?” He asked.

“Yeah.. so what?”

“You’re a brave girl,” he chuckled. “And a kind one too.”

She doubted it and pursed her lips. “Thanks.”

He smiled kindly. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but it’s  _ something.  _ It's painful to see a girl like you, brimming with so much potential, locking herself away,” he paused. “If you ever want to talk, I’ll listen.”

His kindness brought tears to her eyes which she swept away angrily. “Thanks but no. There’s nothing  _ wrong  _ with me damn it.”

He didn’t ask again. 

As the pain in her shoulder receded, her mom’s anxiety mounted. Her belly had started to swell grossly and Oscur was getting more and more agitated. 

A baby.

Miu loathed the idea. But maybe, just maybe, if her mom had Oscur’s baby, he would stay. Be the dad she hadn’t had in over a year. 

Too bad that fantasy never came to fruition.

The child was never born. It died long before that. There were tears in Oscur’s eyes, masking a stone-cold anger at himself, and emotion Miu was all too familiar with. He left too. After all, he had no reason to stay. Not anymore.

Miu blamed herself. 

Her whole world took another U-turn, but this time she didn’t resist. She shivered with anxiety, waiting. Watching. Oscur was a lucky draw, Latare wasn’t. Now it was up to chance. 

_ Fuck. _

__ Zarode Garota.

He was a bull of a man with thick, corded muscles. Tattoos laced across his skin, curling around his neck. His jaw could cut glass. 

Miu noticed he tended not to talk much except when his gaggle of similar stone-faced brutes came over, filling every room with watery vomit and beer cans she’d have to clean up once they had all passed out. 

What unsettled her the most were the looks he gave her. The way he idolized her like he swooned over the moaning messes on the TV. But she had no intention of repeating what had happened with Latare. She was more angry than afraid. 

Zarode caught her watching him. “Why don’t you come over here?” He asked. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes swam drunkenly. 

“Why?” She asked innocently, a soft lilt in her voice. “What are you going to do with me?”   
He raised his eyebrows. “You offering?”

She puffed out her lip to keep it from trembling. “Only if you’re taking.”

One of the other men belched a laugh. “Then strip, you little whore.”

“Yes master,” she chided as she peeled off her shirt. They all chuckled at that. Her lips quirked into a grin. “Do you want me to call you that? Or do you just want to cut to the chase?”   
None of them laid a hand on her. She put on a show and they seemed content with that. As long as she kept up the act she was safe. 

Zarode took a liking to her after that, which wasn’t all that surprising but made her dance around him until she was practically dizzy with discomfort. 

He tugged on her hair, ran his fingers down her arms and groped at her but nothing more than that. She’d always return with some sultry remark and grin. He’d smirk and lick his lips and move on. 

Then her mom had to go and fuck it up again. She hit Zarode. For whatever reason her mom had finally done what she should have done when this shithead walked in the door. Maybe she was drunk, or high. 

It didn’t matter. Zarode changed after that. 

He’d beat her mom, leaving her bloody and bruised. Miu never saw it, but she saw the aftermath, all purples, reds and sickening blacks. That was enough to instill her resolve.  _ Keep him happy.  _

__ He smashed Miu’s head against the wall. She gasped, seeing stars. The pain was whisked away instantly but Miu wasn’t focused on it. His eyes bore into her, cold and steady. He grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head back. He started to nibble at her throat. 

She froze, clenching her jaw before she moaned, deep and low in her throat. She felt disgusting but he got a kick out of it, his breath catching.  _ Just get through this. _

__ “What do you want me to do?” She asked softly, panting.

He grinned against her neck. “You know what I like.”

***

Zarode stayed for four years. Maybe it was Miu and her dumb antics keeping him there. Or maybe it was her mom. But whatever the reason, Miu found herself not caring. If he stayed forever so be it. 

At this point she had carnal knowledge of all of Zarode’s cronies. And after a while she stopped getting nervous. It was second nature to her at this point. Not to mention that she couldn’t help but feel a little proud that she was better off than her mom- though hearing her whimpers and cries in the vents would forever haunt her.

Miu was thirteen when her responsibilities went from sensual entertainment to things more ‘hands-on’. They never touched her, or rather they didn’t touch in in any way that  _ hurt.  _ But she touched them. 

She felt sick, bile rising in her throat as her stomach knotted. She stamped it down quickly, hiding behind a mask of wicked grins and bemused smiles. 

It was just Zarode the night it almost happened again. 

He came home, sulking through the door. His foot caught on a stray beer can, crushing it with a shrill  _ crunch,  _ alerting Miu to his presence. She nearly laughed. Since when did Zarode have a bad day? He was as care-free as a prostitute, though with half the patience.

Then she saw his face.

His eye was black and puffy, flaps of skin swollen over his eye. She raised an eyebrow when he saw her. “Did you get into a little cat fight?”

He curled his lip, wincing as his skin shifted. “Come here.”

She did as she was told. 

He pressed her against the wall, locking his hands in her hair as he smashed his lips against hers. She shivered and began to kiss him back. His lips were grainy with something that she didn’t want to think about. 

His thigh rode up to press between hers and she gasped, squirming. 

“Like that?” He muttered, running his wormy hands up her sides.

She gulped. “I-”

He ignored her, biting her earlobe as he tugged at her shorts. Her eyes flew wide open as panic erupted into her chest, nearly choking her. “Stop.”

Hands pressed firmly against his chest, she jerked away from the kiss.

He was too heavy.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” he growled. 

“I said stop!” She screamed, digging her nails into his shoulders. He grunted. 

In one singular, swift motion, she slapped him as hard as she could. He roared as her fingers whisked across his eye, in turn slamming her whole body back against the wall. 

“Shut up!” 

A tear slipped down Miu’s cheek as his hands trailed up her bare thighs-

“Get out of my fucking house.”

Zarode froze. Miu shakily glanced around his shoulder. 

Her mom had a glock 17 in her hands, eyes as hard as diamonds. She released the safety, skewering Zarode with a gaze that could wilt flowers. “Get out.”

He curled his lips back into an animalistic snarl, wrapping a sweaty, meaty hand around Miu’s throat. She just stared. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” He demanded.

Her mom nodded. “I do.”

Miu crumpled to the floor as Zarode dropped her, thundering out of the house and slamming the door so hard that the hinges wailed and the house shook. Miu’s mom stared at her before leaning against the counter, setting down the gun and pressing her fingers into her temples. “This just a whole fucking mess, isn’t it?”

For once Miu didn’t have anything to say. 

“Don’t think I did this for you, either,” her mom continued. “I hated him as much as you did, if not more.”

“Fat chance,” Miu snarled. 

“Oh you think you’ve had it rough? I’ve been through more than you can imagine. You could not  _ fathom  _ what I’ve suffered just to keep us alive,” her voice was slick with malice.

“No fucking wonder why you don’t have a soulmate,” Miu replied darkly. “No one except desperate slugs would want to touch you with a ten foot pull even if your boobs were bigger than an A-cup.”

Her mom knelt down and slapped her. 

Miu didn’t react. The pain dissolved quickly anyway. All she could do was burst into laughter. “Hurt me you bitch,” the words came out as half a moan half a snarl. “Or take your dirty hands and shove them up your ass. I don’t give a shit if you hit me or beat me or whatever the hell you want to do because it is  _ nothing  _ compared to what they did to me.”

“You ungrateful bitch. I saved you.”

Miu laughed harder. “Want me to get down on my knees and thank you? Maybe while I’m at it I’ll fuck you like I fucked them!”

“Get out,” her mom said. Her voice hitched. She would start crying the second Miu left the room, whether out of self hatred or some twisted form of regret. 

Miu couldn’t remember the last time she had felt guilt like this for her mom. Maybe never. She had never been this mad before, but she couldn’t help it. All she could see was her mom’s face as she turned away. Turned away and left. 

For the most part after that she ignored her mom and vice versa. The waters were far too murky to swim though and she was fairly certain that they would never really clear. Not that she cared. Any good relationship she had with her mom died along with her dad. 

Then the car crash. Then the oily darkness that caught her in its gaping maw slipped her into a sleep as thick as death. 

***

It had been a long time since Kaede had felt so much raw fear that was sincerely her own. She was used to the fuzzy, static panic of her soulmate; She could handle that. But this was different- she could almost taste her simmering blood when her soulmate went dark.

The breath left her chest and she gasped.

She had heard stories of people who’s soulmates ended up in comas, on life support or trapped in some vegetative state. She couldn’t imagine what that was like, but what other explanation was there?

Shivers of fear squirmed in her chest. Her only consolation was that she knew her soulmate wasn’t  _ dead.  _ If she was, Kaede would be too. But even still..

Three weeks later she still felt nothing. Panic pulsated through her blood with every thump of her heart. She couldn’t lose her soulmate. She  _ couldn’t. _

__ She resorted playing the piano more and more. Her fingers were practically glued to the porcelain keys- it was all she could do to cope. She didn’t want to tell her parents. She didn’t want to make them worry and the last thing she needed was soulmate counseling, or whatever the hell it was called.

Another month passed.

Then another.

Kaede was coming to terms with it, or trying to. Yet as time went on she became more and more hopeful. The initial shock wore off and she forced herself to keep an open mind. They  _ will  _ wake up.  _ I know they will. _

Two more months and she felt the first spark of pain.

It like a sudden burn in her fingertips, like a small shot of electricity.

She nearly cried in relief, taking the pain and absorbing it like it was the sweetest candy in the world. She smiled like a dork for god knew how long. In the end though, all it did was make her want to meet her soulmate even more. 

But she could wait.

She’d wait however long it took. 

***

Miu’s run of luck had been laughable, if she had even had one at all. But once she woke up, things seemed to take a turn for the better. 

She awoke blinking deliriously, the blinding white lights reflecting off the eggshell colored walls and making her head hurt. But beyond the initial discomfort, her fingers were itching. Itching to  _ do  _ something. 

When she got home she took apart her mom’s glock. Put it back together. Played with the alarm clock, the microwave, anything she could get her hands on. It was listless work, but she found herself mesmerized by it. It was methodical, soothing.

It let her forget. And it gave her something to look forward to. 

Her mom was ready for another go on whatever romantic roller-coaster she was stuck on, bringing home another man. He was ratty and ugly, his face pinched with a crooked nose that had evidently been broken and never healed right. Miu didn’t bother to learn his name. 

If he tried to touch her she had a plethora of ideas of what she could do to him. She didn’t talk to him or interact with him. For all he knew, she was a ghost haunting the house. 

She was scouted for her ‘talent’ about a month and a half later. 

Hope’s Peak High School wasn’t what she was expecting- it was freeing in the same way that it was dripping with false jubilation. The air with thick with energy that set Miu on edge. She fiddled with a few stray gears in her pocket. 

“Are you the Ultimate Stripper?” 

Miu whirled around and saw the most annoying little  _ thing  _ she had ever laid eyes on. Kokichi Oma. 

“Don’t waste your time,” she said, curling her lip. “Even if I was I wouldn’t pity-fuck you for all the money in the world.”

He thought for a moment. “Man your soulmate is going to be so disappointed when they meet you,” he laughed cheerily. “I know I would be!”

Miu faltered for a split second. “Tch. Like you even  _ have  _ a soulmate. You’d be lucky to even  _ touch  _ a big boobed hottie like me,” she looked down her nose at him. “If you even swing this way.”

“Oh see that’s where you’re wrong,” he smiled gleefully, ignoring the rest of what she said. “I’ve already met my soulmate and they love me very much. Sorry to disappoint.”

Miu was about to form a retort before a girl with crossed arms approached Kokichi and tugged on the checkered bandana around his neck. He yelped.  _ Is she his soulmate? _

__ “Stop picking fights,” the girl scolded before turning to Miu. “Sorry about him. I wish I could say he wasn’t always like this, but he gets better once you get to know him.”

“Oh you know I don’t,” Kokichi grinned. The girl flicked him in his cheek. He yelped again. “Ow! Stop hurting me!”

Miu just laughed. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you to keep your kinks to yourself?”

The girl frowned.

Kokichi giggled. “Oh I see. Did you think Kaede was my soulmate? Ha! I wouldn’t be caught dead with her! But hey, if that’s what you’re into-”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Kaede interjected hurriedly.

He barreled on. “Jeez you’re gullible. I can’t believe you actually believed me! Of course I haven’t met my soulmate! Although, for all you know, that’s a lie too!” He eyed her mischievously. 

“Just ignore him,” Kaede said. “He’s always lying. Take whatever he says with a grain of salt. But if you want to make friends I’d probably-”

“Ha! I do what I want,” Miu retorted. She pointed a finger at Kaede. “I don’t have to listen to you, cowtits.”

Kaede narrowed her eyes and Kokichi laughed loudly. “Poor Kaede. You can’t be friends with everyone! Oh well, looks like you’ll just have to give up.”

“Why would I-”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing, but I’d stay away from me,”Miu looked at her nails. “I don’t make friends with dumb virgins like you guys.”

Kaede chewed on her cheek before let out an exasperated sigh. She turned away and stomped back down the corridor. 

“Idiot,” Miu muttered, not sure if she was scolding herself or the other girl. “Kaediot.”

***

Kaede groaned, leaning back in her chair and kneading her eyes with her palms in a way that looked fairly painful. Shuichi, Rantaro and Kaito watched her silently before Shuichi spoke up. “What’s on your mind?”

“Why are some people just so.. So difficult!” She moaned.

“Who are we talking about?” Rantaro asked, looking at her tiredly. 

“Oh let me guess!” Kaito interjected before Kaede could speak. “You’ve met your soulmate, haven’t you?”

“What?!” Kaede recoiled, surprised to the point she nearly fell out of her chair. Shuichi steadied her with a hand on her shoulder. 

Kaito shrugged. “Just a hunch. I’ve seen my fair amount of hookups to know a thing or two,” he winked.

Kaede shook her head. “She’s not my soulmate. I’m sure of it.”

“Who?” Rantaro asked again.

“Miu Iruma.”

Kaito nearly choked. Rantaro smiled. “I see things have taken a turn. Not unexpected I suppose,” he waved his hand. “What did she do? I’ve heard she’s quite the.. Woman.”

Kaede tsked. “ _ Woman  _ isn’t the right word. I don’t know what she is, but I hate her.”

“Woah woah Kaede,” Kaito held up his hands. “Since when do  _ you  _ hate anyone?”

“Maybe hate is too strong a word,” Kaede relaxed a little. “I don’t know her well enough to hate her. But she gets under my skin. Remember what I told you about my soulmate?”

“About the.. Abuse?” Shuichi asked. She nodded. 

“Yeah, that,” Kaede looked down at her clasped hands, fiddling her thumbs. “It just makes me mad to see someone be so.. So flamboyant about that type of stuff when others suffer with it all the time. I don’t know.”

Shuichi sighed, letting out a breath. “Maybe there’s a reason why she acts like that. No one is black and white.”

“Look at you Shuichi,” Kaito grinned. “Taking charge.”   
Shuichi waved him away. “I’m serious. Maybe Kaito’s hunch means something. It usually does, doesn’t it? I trust Kaito, and I trust you Kaede. However you choose to handle this, I’m on board.”

Rantaro cocked his head. “I’m sure you’ll make the right decision anyhow. And I’m sure you’ll be happier in the end.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaito asked.

“Who knows,” Rantaro replied with a smile. 

***

Just when things seemed like they couldn’t get any worse (in that mundane way of carrying a heavy armload of metallic junk around for what felt like miles), Miu ran into the last person she wanted to see. 

Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed a wisp of a stained flannel jacket,

A shiver rattled its way down her spine.

Cautiously she looked around the corner. Her breath snagged in her throat and she stumbled back, dropping some of the things she was holding. As they fell they made loud  _ clinks  _ and  _ clanks.  _

__ _ Latare Kuyo. _

__ No. This wasn’t happening. Why was Latare here in all his stupid, fat and stuck-up glory? She bit back a snarl. But it was too late to turn tail and run. He’d heard her.

“I know you’re there. Is there something you need?”

His voice was smooth and calm, like honey. 

She slowly turned back toward him. He looked considerably better than when she had last seen him- his beard was nicely manicured if not shot through almost completely with bolts of white, and his uniform was doing wonders to hide his fat- wait.

His uniform.

“You’re a teacher?” She asked dumbly.

__ His eyes flickered with recognition. “Life’s path is a strange one, isn't it?”

She said nothing. Words lodged in her throat. 

“Long time no see,” he grinned. “I never thought you’d be here. Are you an Ultimate? Looks like it, huh? What’s your talent?” He eyed the load in her arms. “Tinker? Inventor? Mechanic?”

She still didn’t speak because she knew that if she did, her words would be second in priority to the bile creeping up in her throat.

“Do you need help carrying all that? It looks quite heavy.”

Forcing herself to swallow the panic in her mouth she finally muttered, “I don’t need your help. Get the fuck away from me.”

He looked slightly hurt. “.. That was a long time ago, Miu.”

“Don’t say my fucking name!”

He held up his hands defensively. “Sorry sorry. But I’m serious- what I did was a mistake. I see that now. Back then.. Well.. you know how I was. I want to change-”

“I don’t give two shits what you want,” Miu spat. “Get the fuck away from me you fucking pervert! And while you’re at it, why don’t you trip into the darkest pit of hell?!”

He sighed, leaning back against the wall. “I suppose I wasn’t expecting anything else but I gotta say, you have a terrible temper. I do hope that’s not my fault? Well, in any case, how’s life been treating you? Did I leave at a bad time?”

Oh no. He was  _ not  _ trying to make small talk with her. 

She curled her lips back and said nothing. 

As she sped away from him, legs wobbly, she got lost. Her vision was blurred slightly, whether from tears of searing anger she didn’t know. All she knew was that she had to get  _ away.  _

__ She bit her lip until it bled.

The memories in her head were slipping through the cracks, choking the life out of her. She couldn’t allow herself to remember. She  _ couldn’t.  _

__ But he was here. Here to stay, and something told her she was going to see him again.

***

Kaede hated gym. It wasn’t that she was entirely nonathletic, but she hated the corroding burn in her chest, the scratchy heat left in her throat every time she sucked in a breath. It felt like she was being strangled with a white-hot wire.

They were running on the track outside- for once the sun was hot and humid, making her sweat. She tried to coax her mind away to better things than the sting in her thighs.  _ It's just a mile. Suck it up. _

__ “Hurry up slow-poke!” Kokichi whined.

Kaede glared.  _ Just bear it. _

__ She fixed her gaze on the girl in front of her, strawberry-blond hair swaying like Easter ribbons in the breeze. She was running faster and with a steady sureness that reminded Kaede of an animal, stalking its prey. She shivered.

Kokichi griped at her again. She hardly heard it.

Then, she fell.

It was the same, sickening feeling as when she fell out of that tree. She stumbled, tripping over her own feet and skidding to her knees. Seeds of gravel slipped up and under her skin, making the area look like a bloody star-map. 

She winced, fighting the whimper in her throat.

“Damn,” Kokichi said, slowing down to a trot. “That’s gonna leave a scar!”

She looked up. Miu had stopped and was gritting her teeth, resting her hands on her thighs where she dug her nails in.

The blossoming pain in Kaede’s knees softened until it was numbed with a euphoric warmth. It took her a moment to realize she was staring at Miu until she saw the other girl wince, wrinkling her nose and letting out a ragged breath. 

Kaede’s eyes widened.  _ No way.. _

__ She thought about what her parents had said, how their meeting had been dull and extraordinary. No flying sparks or fireworks in the background. But her parents hadn’t been at each other’s throats when they first met. How less ‘storybook’ could she get?

There was no way this was real. No way that  _ Miu Iruma  _ was her  _ soulmate.  _

Kaito’s hunch echoed in her head.

“Hey you ok?” Shuichi asked. He had come to a stop beside her, panting. 

“Yeah. I think I’m fine.”

Miu kept running.

“You sure? I mean, that looks like it hurts and- What’re you staring at?”

Kaede’s eyes were locked on the ground, fingers splayed beneath her. Her whole world seemed to have shifted axis. A strange emotions writhed in her blood, spurting out with every beat of her heart. 

_ Maybe it is possible. Maybe what Shuichi said was right- maybe she’s not so black and white after all. _

__ ***

“Hey Miu? Can we talk for a second?”

Miu was trying to tug her overly stuffed backpack from her gym locker when she turned around, setting her jaw and trying to muster the bitchiest face she could. “Don’t waste my time, Kaediot. What do you want?”

Kaede swallowed. There was a certain trepidation in her eyes that made Miu soften. Was she.. Scared?

“Uhm.. Did you.. Were you.. Why did you stop running today?” Kaede asked. She fumbled over her words like a dorky magician doing a coin trick. 

Miu cocked her head. “I have shitty stamina alright? I gotta conserve my energy for.. Other things,” she sighed. 

“I-” Kaede shook her head. “Was it because you felt someone else’s pain? Was it because someone else was hurt?”

“Yeah so what if they were? Why the fuck do you care, cowtits?”

Kaede fiddled with her fingers. “I- I tripped ok?”

She didn’t understand at first. All she could do was numbly eye the bandages on Kaede’s knees and cling to the phantom pain in her own. Slowly, like slogging through quicksand, puzzle pieces clicked into place.  _ No fucking way. _

__ “S- So what?” Miu asked, her composure slipping. A rod of fear slid into her. She was going to add some sort of nasty retort but decided against it. 

“So.. What I’m trying to say-” Kaede groaned. “I think you’re my soulmate!”

Miu froze. “I- If this is some some stupid joke, I’m not laughing.”   
“I’m not joking,” Kaede said desperately. “Here, look.”

Without any preamble she dug her nails into her palm as hard as she could.

Miu flinched, absorbing the sudden pain without thinking. Then it hit her. The stone cold realization. All her emotions tangled her up in their cunning web, spinning her around until she was dizzy. 

“See,” Kaede said, taking a step closer. “You felt that, right? You took the pain from me, like you always do,” her gaze softened. “You always have.”

Miu’s lip began to tremble. Her facade broke, all the sultry, stupid insults and japes began to crumble away like paint chips. “I- I’m sorry.”

Kaede looked confused, stepping close enough so that she could tentatively cup Miu’s cheek. “Why are you sorry?”

“F- For all the shit you had to go through! You took it all- God you didn’t deserve any of that! That was meant for  _ me.”  _ Miu grit her teeth. She  _ wasn’t  _ going to cry. Instead, she clutched Kaede’s wrist, leaning into her touch. “I’m such a bitch to you and I-”

“It’s ok,” Kaede whispered, stroking her cheek gently. “You’re ok. We’ll figure this out, I promise. But.. God I’m so glad I finally met you!” She grinned as if she just couldn’t contain herself. 

Miu smiled shakily. Warmth flooded her chest and she relaxed.”Did you just-”

Kaede raised an eyebrow, a quirky smile curving her lips. “Yep! Now.. We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”   
“Yeah we fucking do,” Miu said. 

***

Kaede was jittery with excitement. Maybe it hadn’t been  _ magical,  _ but it definitely had been  _ something,  _ and that was as perfect as Kaede wanted it. But.. she had finally met her soulmate-

Her predisposed thoughts of Miu had done a three-sixty. She didn’t know the details of what had happened, and maybe she didn’t need to to understand, but she did know that Miu was most certainly  _ not  _ just black and white. As per usual, Shuichi was right.

She smiled, picturing her friend’s reactions. But that was for later. 

They had gone back to Kaede’s dorm, hoping for more privacy than a dingy school locker room could offer. The sun lay golden stripes on the bed through the blinds, crossing across Miu’s shoulders when she sat down. 

Miu was shaking slightly, rolling her hair between her fingers.

“You ok?” Kaede asked.

She blinked. “Of course I’m not ok! Everything is a mess and it's all just coming out and I- ngh,” she blushed bright red. “Why’d I have to say that.”

“Shush,” Kaede said, laughing a little. “Don’t stress it! We can talk about everything, or nothing if you want, ok?”

Miu nodded slowly.

The pianist sat down next to her. 

“I’m sorry about how I acted before,” she muttered softly. Kaede’s eyes widened. “And for calling you a virgin.”

Kaede scratched the back of her neck nervously. “Its ok! You don’t need to apologize-” she smiled again. “I don’t understand yet, but.. If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen, I promise.”

Miu clenched her fists into her skirt. “Thanks, Kaediot. You’re not so bad you know. I’ll think about it.”

Kaede nodded. She could wait, however long it took.

***

A couple of days had passed since the clusterfuck that was Kaede’s confession, or whatever it could be called. Miu could hardly believe it. How did she get so damn lucky?

Maybe all the luck missing from her life had finally come to fruition.

But there was tension in the air so thick you could cut it.

_ What happened? _ _  
_ __ Miu wanted to tell Kaede so badly, but at the same time she couldn’t force the words through her teeth. She didn’t fight Latare. She gave into Zarode. She caused Kaede to suffer.

She felt so useless. 

She was walking back to her dorm from dinner- Kirumi had cooked.  _ Again.  _ But Miu couldn’t properly appreciate it because for some reason she felt so on  _ edge.  _ Like she had missed the bottom step of some stupid staircase and was falling..

Miu had excused herself early with a bark of laughter. Kaede had offered to walk with her but she had declined. 

She should have let her, because if she did then Latare wouldn’t have stopped her. 

“Wandering the halls are you?” He asked.

“Fuck off,” Miu hissed, side-stepping him. He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She swallowed thickly, panic leaping in her throat. “Move.”

“You know, after I left I thought about you. I couldn’t get you out of my head,” he said.

She looked down at her feet.

He reached out and smoothed down her hair. She flinched. “You know, sometimes I think you’re my soulmate. I know it sounds crazy- Do you.. Do you have a soulmate?”

Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

“Hm,” he harrumphed deep in his chest, removing his hand from her head. “You know, I’ve heard some things about you. Not kind things. Things that no one with a soulmate would do.”

Miu snapped. She recoiled from him and bared her teeth like a rabid animal. “I did what I did to  _ protect  _ my soulmate you fucking sack of shit. Now  _ move  _ before I turn you into a pincushion with your teeth!”

He chuckled before rolling his eyes. He disappeared down the hall.

The second he was around the corner she fell to her knees. Her breaths came in ragged and torn. She couldn’t breathe. She wanted Kaede. For once in her life she wanted-  _ needed  _ to be touched.

She whimpered, burying her head in her knees. 

The night dragged on sluggishly. Miu was bordering on insanity, trapped on the rim of a whirling storm of turmoil and panic. She didn’t want to fall in, because God only knew what would happen if she did. 

_ Latare won’t hurt me again. He  _ won’t.  _ I won’t let him. _

It was a miracle she managed to crawl back to her dorm and fall onto her bed like a ragdoll. Everything was spinning. She felt like she was going to throw up. Her bedside clock red 9:37.

She groaned. 

Her memories sloshed around in her head, wetting her eyes. Or maybe she was just crying. She wanted to scream, to beat his face into a pulp. But she couldn’t so settled on sobbing. 

She forced her thoughts into a different gear.  _ Kaede.  _ The thought was a well worn aration in her skull by now but her breath hitched anyway. 

With shaking legs she stood up, curling her arms around herself as if they would somehow provide her any comfort. A sinking feeling in her gut made her realize that Kaede was asleep. Regardless, she stumbled down the hallway.

The doorbell looked like a thousand miles away. But she pressed it. And waited. A few seconds of silence passed and red-hot fear rose in her chest. More tears dribbled down her cheeks. She was slipping. Falling in. She couldn’t stop herself-

“Miu?”

Miu froze. 

Kaede’s eyes were wide, her gaze had gone from apathetic and sleep-deprived to something so soft Miu wanted to curl up in it and just sleep. And  _ god  _ she looked so kind and-

“I- I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I-”

“Hey it's ok,” Kaede said. “Come inside?”

Miu nodded.

Kaede stood aside and Miu wasted no time before collapsing on Kaede’s bed, clenching her fists until it hurt. Kaede sat next to her, looking at her sweetly. She reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Miu’s eyes. 

“What’s wrong?”

She wasn’t used to someone being so kind to her. So  _ loving. _

__ That’s when she finally broke.

***

She fell onto Kaede’s chest, clutching at her shirt. It was all she could do to tether herself. All her locked up emotions spilled out as she sobbed, nuzzing into Kaede’s neck and pressing herself as close as she could.

Kaede wrapped her arms around Miu, gently stroking her back and running her fingers through the girl’s hair. 

“Shhh,” Kaede murmured. “You’re ok. I got you. Just breathe.”

Miu choked out a whimper, clutching at Kaede tighter.

Kaede slowly shifted Miu onto her lap so that the inventor’s legs rested on her hips. Miu’s hands wound around her waist so that she could snuggle closer. 

No one’s going to hurt you,” Kaede whispered into her hair, peppering kissing against her temples. “You’re safe, I promise.”

Kaede would have absorbed all of it that she could but something stopped her. Miu needed this, she could tell. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to do this. To be this  _ vulnerable.  _

__ Kaede continued to stroke her hair, massaging her scalp. “Miu?” She finally asked, kissing her head once more before pulling away to look into Miu’s eyes. They were wide and scared. Kaede’s heart shattered. “What’s wrong?”

Miu sniffed, sucking in a shaky breath. A single tear dripped down her cheek. Kaede wiped it away.

“He’s.. He’s here,” she whispered. “I- I don’t want to do this again?”

“Do what?” Kaede asked. 

Miu shivered, resting her head against Kaede’s shoulder. “Y- You remember when I was ten. W- What he did,” she growled a little. “What he put me through. What that fuckard put  _ you  _ through.”

Kaede nodded. She didn’t regret taking that pain, not one bit. She’d do it again in a heartbeat. 

“That was right after my old man kicked the can. His stupid soulmate had to go and get killed. My mom had to be a bitch about it and brought  _ him  _ home. I didn’t know what that pig was going to do. My mom just let it happen.”

Kaede’s gut tightened into knots. 

“Mom went again on that shitty carousel. This guy didn’t hurt me. T- That was when you broke your arm, lucky timing,” she laughed mirthlessly. “He went out to get milk like some movie-generic asshole. The next one.. I wasn’t going to go through with all that bullshit again. So I made him happy. I did whatever he and his cronies asked. I put on a show like some whore. F- four years.”

Her arms tightened around Miu.  _ That’s why she treats everyone like this. That’s why she shuts everyone out. Insults them with that trash mouth of hers. It’s how she coped.  _

“T- Then he tried to.. He tried to..”

“It’s ok,” Kaede said. “You don’t have to say it.”

Miu swallowed. “My mom stopped him. I don’t know why but even trash can surprise you huh? She made him leave. She was a fucking worse mom than a wife. Then I got into a car crash. I was in a coma for months.”

“I felt that,” Kaede said, resting her chin on Miu’s head. “I was so worried about you. Worried that you weren’t going to wake up.”

Miu nuzzled closer to her. “When I finally did wake up.. I felt different. I wasn’t born with my ultimate talent. That was when it happened. I was finally the Gorgeous Girl Genius,” a chuckle rumbled in her throat. “But now  _ he’s  _ here and he won’t let me fucking forget. He won’t leave me alone.”

Kaede didn’t need to ask who  _ he  _ was. Hate bubbled up in her chest like boiling oil. “I won’t let him hurt you ever again,” she said. “I promise. I won’t let him touch you.”

Miu sniffled, gently pressing a kiss to Kaede’s throat. “Thank you. God damn it. Where the fuck have you been all my life?”

She smiled. “Waiting for you.”

“Ugh Kaediot,” Miu said, lifting her head and quirking a smile. “You’re so sappy its kinda gross.”

“You love it,” Kaede giggled.

Miu groaned playfully. “Shut up.”

A few minutes passed in a silky, blissful silence before Miu yawned. Kaede’s eyes had grown droopy. “D- Do you want to stay the night? It’s really late and..”

“I guess I could entertain you for one night, if you need me that badly,” Miu smirked. 

Kaede sighed.  _ Looks like she’s back to her normal self. _

Miu slipped under the covers as Kaede went and turned off the lights. She nervously got back into her bed, facing Miu who was tediously rubbing her hands. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ve never told anyone that before.”

“You’re my soulmate, of course I’ll be here for you,” Kaede said. She gently cupped Miu’s cheek and kissed her forehead. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“Ngh why do you say things like that,” Miu moaned. “I won’t be able to control myself,” she puffed out her lip.

Kaede rolled her eyes. “Get some sleep.”

Miu rolled over on her side, grumbling something under her breath. Kaede thought for a moment. “C- can I touch you?”

Miu stiffened before relaxing. “Yeah.”

Slowly Kaede wrapped her arm around Miu’s torso, pulling them together. She buried her nose in Miu’s hair.  _ God she’s perfect.  _

***

There was one thing that Kaede hated more than getting up early- getting up early and having to  _ study.  _ She managed to haul herself out of the comfortable warmth of her bed, disentangling herself from an irritated albeit sleepy Miu. 

Kaede watched her soulmate for a few seconds as she frowned, rolling away from Kaede and falling back into a deep sleep. When she wasn’t trying to bite everyone’s heads off, she was actually kinda cute. 

Kaede smiled softly as she stuffed herself into presentable attire, not bothering with much else before scribbling a hasty note, preparing herself for another day of hell. 

Mrs. Yukizome had referred Kaede to one of the reserve course teachers- a man named Latare. She said that despite the fact he wasn’t an ultimate, he was a damn good teacher. Kaede was just pissed that he chose to meet her so early in the morning.

She was the only one in the classroom when she arrived. She picked a seat close to the front of the room, stifling a yawn. 

“Ah, sorry I was late,” after a few minutes a man walked in. He was older looking and ashen. The thing that outwardly stuck out about him, however, was his thick and cloying aura. It was suffocating, overbearing like too much cologne. 

“No big deal,” Kaede said.

He clapped his hands together. “Well, let’s get started shall we?”

She found his mannerisms methodical and oddly sweet, but it was the wrong kind of sweet. Like when you’re expecting bitter and instead get some candy-like treat. 

Without any real reason, he leaned a little closer to her, looking over her shoulder so that his chest was brushing her back. She stiffened, his words lost in the sea of emotions she suddenly found herself adrift in.

A half hour later he scratched the back of his head. “Like to take a break? Classes will be starting soon I believe.”

She nodded tiredly.

He smiled, trailing a hand across her lower back, his touch lingering a few seconds too long. 

A shiver ran down her spine.

_ He’s here.. _

__ _ Oh fuck no.  _

“Actually,” Kaede said, jamming her things into her bag. “I just remembered I have another assignment due. I’m sorry.”

He frowned. “I suppose that can’t be helped, huh? I enjoyed our time, I hope to see you again!”

“Yeah,” Kaede said, biting back something malicious. “Me too.”

***

Miu was just slipping on a new shirt when Kaede came back into her dorm, smoke practically coming out of your ears. 

“Jesus who put you in heat, what gives?” Miu asked, eyeing her quizzically.

Kaede grit her teeth. “Latare. Or whatever his name is. I’m guessing he’s-”

In one blink-and-you-miss it motion Miu’s hands flew to Kaede’s shoulders, her eyes boring into the other girl. “What did he do? I swear if he hurt you-”

Kaede shook her head. “I just.. Got a feeling. He didn’t hurt me, I promise.”

Miu let out a shaky breath, visibly relaxing. “Yeah. I would have felt the pain if he tried to pull any of his bullshit anyway.”

“You’re like a big mamma bear,” Kaede giggled. Miu glared before playfully tackling Kaede to the bed, growling into her neck.

“Rawr.”

Kaede laughed, bouncing Miu as she did. “Ah come on! Stop it!”

“A-ah!” She felt something hot and wet against her skin and jumped as she realized Miu had licked her. Miu sat up, heavily straddling Kaede’s lips. Her cheeks were flushed. 

“Oh god make that noise again.”

Kaede went beat red. “Oh my god shush!”

Miu erupted into laughter before standing up, grabbing Kaede’s hand to haul her up too. “Sorry,” she batted her eyelashes innocently. “You’re just so irresistible.”

The pianist giggled before pecking Miu on the cheek, racing out of the room to a barrage of playful curses. 

***

Miu was bloated with an adrenaline rush all the way to her marrow. She stomped towards the reserve course classroom, shoving past all the normal people living their boring, normal lives. She didn’t care when people accidentally knocked into her. Her anger was reserved for someone else.

Latare was leaning against his desk, talking to a few students who had already flocked into the room. They were all reserve course so it must have been quite the surprise when a fuming ultimate barged into their room. 

Latare smiled when he saw her. “Ah, Miu. What do I owe this pleasure?”   
She said nothing, quietly walking up to him before slapping him as hard as she could. 

He gasped, stumbling back against his desk while clutching his cheek.

“Fucking pervert,” Miu snarled. “If you ever touch me, or anyone here ever again, you won’t live to regret it. Got me?”

He gaped at her. “W- Why you little-”

She barked a laugh. “How dare I what, old man? Oh, don’t look so hurt. And don’t look so pitiful. Where was the pity when you raped a ten year old? Or the pity about touching underage girls to satiate your own disgusting lust?”

The students stared at her before one of them piped up. “H- He touched you too?”   
Miu’s eyes widened and she stared at Latare. “Tell me you fucking didn’t.”

No slick words of sleazy retribution. No I’m sorrys or please forgive mes. He was silent. 

“Ok, shithead. Here’s what I’m going to do,” she said loudly. The students who were coming into the class looked at her with wide, obfuscated eyes. She loved it. “You’re going to come with me and tell Jin dearest about  _ everything.  _ He’ll sort you out like the filthy dog you are. And if not, I have a whole bunch of inventions with your name on it.”

“Fuck you,” he spat.

“Get some new fucking content, Jesus.”

***

Kaede sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. The room was dark, blotchy shadows taking the form of all manor of monsters and creatures. She grumbled, slipping her legs out of the covers.

Miu groaned, grasping at Kaede as she sat up. The inventor looked mildly angry as she wrinkled her nose. Kaede giggled quietly, careful not to wake her.

But she just couldn’t sleep with exams coming up. She was sick with stress and we stomach twisted with pent up anxiety. She sighed, moving to stand up. Maybe she could cram a few more hours-

“Kaediottt,” Miu whined, squinting up at her. “Come back to bed.”

Kaede shook her head. “I have to study. Exams aren’t going to ace themselves.”

“It’s three in the motherfucking morning,” Miu said, yawning as she sat up. 

“So? This might be the only time I actually get to study. I have classes during the day, Kaito’s training before bed, hardly any time after school with my extra lessons for piano-”

Before Kaede could fully stand up Miu hooked her arms around Kaede’s waste, pulling their bodies together snugly. Miu brushed Kaede’s hair away from her neck, planting a soft kiss against her exposed skin.

Kaede sighed. “Miu-”

Miu didn’t budge, instead trailing more kisses around Kaede’s neck, causing her to shiver, suppressing a whine.

“Ngh,” Kaede sighed as Miu’s kisses became more open mouthed and sloppy, sliding down her shoulder as Miu moved her shirt out of the way. Kaede clutched the hand around her waist, sinking back into her soulmate.

“Just relax for a bit will you?” Miu said, breath hot on her ear. “Exams aren’t going anywhere.”

“But-”

“Shh,” Miu tilted Kaede’s chin so she could give her a sidelong look. “Sleep.”

Kaede sighed but jolted when Miu poked her in the side. “Hey!”

She nearly yelped as Miu fell backward, pulling Kaede down on top of her. Kaede let out a breath, giving up in her attempts to fight Miu. She rested her head against the girl’s chest, listening to her heartbeat. It fluttered beneath her touch. How often had she felt that same heartbeat in her own chest?

“I love you,” Kaede murmured.

Miu sputtered a bit. “I- what the fuck. I love you too dork.”

Kaede smiled. Yeah. This was what she had been waiting for.

  
  
  
  


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**Author's Note:**

> Ah this took me so long to write! Hope you enjoyed!! I might write a follow up fic but who knows ;)


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